Apple tablet rumours flare up after French telecommunication Exec confirms its impending release

Apple's coveted tablet PC is back in the headlines after Stéphane Richard, Deputy General Director of France operations for France Telecom (of which telecommunications company Orange is the key brand), confirms that the tablet would be unveiled "in the next couple of days".

On the morning of January 11, French TV and radio station Europe 1 broadcast an interview with Stéphane Richard.

During the interview, the host of the show, Jean Pierre Elkabbach states "In a few days, your partner Apple is going to launch a tablet" to which Richard quickly responds, "yes". Elkabbach follows the statement with, "equipped with a webcam" and is promptly answered with a second, "Yes".

Rumours about Apple's tablet date back to the early 2000's when Apple' was working on its Newton personal digital assistant devices, but have been increasingly prevalent in the last few months.

The video of the Europe 1 segment is available on French language site, NowhereElse.fr. The comment about Apple's tablet can be heard at the 6:10 minute mark.

Apple representatives had not responded to emails at the time of publication.